Tie Bet a Winner for All Gamblers
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Tie Bet a Winner for All Gamblers - 'We've been gamed by the best': Veteran political reporter Laurie Oakes outplays bookmaker who had offered wagering odds on what tie he would wear by wearing SIX different ties on election night - forcing them to pay out 57 punters.
NHL is coming to Las Vegas because America is Now a Casino Nation - Today, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch would have to concede that the basic public policy of the United States is pro-gambling. All but six states run lotteries, taking in nearly $74 billion last year. Every National Football League team plays in a stadium in which gambling is as close as the nearest convenience store. Still, the announcement that the National Hockey League had awarded an expansion franchise to a group based in Las Vegas was, to some, a shock. This was the first big league to base a team in Las Vegas, a city that, thanks to its gambling and sports betting associations, was for many years taboo. The NFL has even refused to air commercials touting Las Vegas — scrubbed of all gambling references — during the Super Bowl.
Bet365 Facing Legal Action After Witholding Punter’s £54,000 Winnings - Bet365, one of the internet’s biggest bookmakers, is facing legal action from a customer over its failure to transfer a £54,000 balance to her bank account despite repeated requests over a period of months. A spokesman for Bet365 declined to comment on the case or the issues surrounding it when contacted by the Irish Times on Tuesday.
NFL Super Contest No Longer Paying Out 100 Percent - 8 percent will be taken out by Westgate. “I know it’s not something that’s looked upon in a positive way, but we just can’t have a loss leader,” Kornegay said. “We’re not looking to make it profitable, but we’re trying to cover our expenses. We thought this number is fair. “We reviewed the contest over the offseason, and the numbers were not really flattering,” Executive Director of the Westgate Sportsbook, Jay Kornegay said. “When we had 400 contestants, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But as it escalated in growth the past four or five years, the costs have really grown.”
Valve Faces Lawsuit Over Video Game Gambling - The company's failure to crack down on sites that use its virtual goods as currency for bets makes it complicit in a billion-dollar gambling industry, the suit charges.
BREXIT BETTING: A woman has lost £100,000 betting on Remain - The UK's decision to leave the EU has cost one unlucky better £100,000 ($136,782) according to bookmaker William Hill. It said on Thursday that a woman in London placed its biggest Brexit market bet at odds of 2/5, which would have yielded a £40,000 profit if the gamble came good.
William Hill New Online MD Confirms Restructuring - The new William Hill MD Crispin Nieboer commented: “These changes are focused on driving the turnaround of Online’s performance by ensuring we have the right team and structure in place, to keep improving our product and our customer’s experience, broadening our appeal, and growing internationally. “There is more work to do, but we are making significant progress on our mobile product, driving up our customer experience ratings, and delivering incremental gains every week.”
Morgan Stanley: ‘Playtech a Software Company, Not a Gambling Company’ - Morgan Stanley set a 1,170p price target for online gambling software firm Playtech, offering around 50% upside from current levels, and noting that the FTSE 250 outfit is "a software company not a gambling company”. Playtech, which provides back-end support for gambling companies, creates gaming software content, takes 86% of revenues are derived from revenue-share fees. "We benchmark the company to the software peer group, and conclude that the shares warrant a significant re-rating in-line with software peers," Morgan Stanley said.
British Bookies Spared $20 Million Pounds With Russia Equalizer - The Russian goal that denied England victory in their opening Euro 2016 soccer game on Saturday may have saved Britain’s oddsmakers about 20 million pounds ($28 million). For industry leader William Hill Plc, Vasili Berezutski’s last-gasp header was worth about 5 million pounds, a spokesman said. Instead of a 3 million-pound loss on the game, the company made a 2 million-pound profit, he said. Ladbrokes Plc estimated that the goal made a difference of about 2 million pounds to its outcome on the game. “Had England held on we’d be lamenting a dreadful start to the Euros,” Ladbrokes spokesman David Williams said by e-mail. “As it was, we breathed a huge sigh of relief.”
Bet365 Hit With $2.75 Million Fine for Misleading Advertising - Online gambling giant Bet365 has been whacked with a $2.75 million penalty after being found guilty of luring new punters with a false "free bets" offer. The Federal Court found Bet365, which markets itself as "the world's biggest online company", had misled and deceived Australian consumers with its "$200 free bets for new customers" offer between March 2013 and January 2014It found Bet365 failed to prominently display the conditions, which included that, in order to receive the $200 free bet, new customers had to first deposit and gamble $200 of their own money.
Seminoles, State Press Arguments In Gambling Case - Accusing the state of essentially reneging on a 2010 deal, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has asked a federal judge to declare that tribal casinos have permission to keep operating banked card games, including blackjack, for 15 more years. “Despite the promises it made in the compact, within a year of its approval, the state began permitting others to conduct various types of banked card games without explanation or justification,” the tribe’s attorneys, Barry Richard and Joseph Webster, wrote in Friday’s 31-page motion. Regulators in 2011 first approved the designated-player — also called “player-banked” — games, in which the “bank” is another player, instead of the “house.” The designated players almost always are employees of third-party companies. Read More From CBS4
Sport tech Spot The Ball ‘Game of Chance’ Argument Continues - Sportech said its seven-year battle to recoup £97 million in VAT from the taxman, on the grounds that Spot the Ball is a game of chance rather than skill would continue until at least the autumn. HM Revenues & Customs has applied directly to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal an earlier decision by the Court of Appeal. Last month, the Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that the football pools company had wrongly paid VAT on its Spot the Ball competitions.
US Authorities Mum on US Irish Official Questioned in Big Bank Gambling Scandal – US authorities will not name an Irish tax official who responded to their queries about the tax affairs of businessman JP McManus. Mr McManus claims he is not liable to pay tax on $17.4m won during a game of backgammon because he had paid a flat charge of €200,000 to the Irish government that year.
NFL Hypocrisy in Bringing Team to Vegas Claims New Jersey State Senator - “The NFL hypocrisy has already been exposed,’’ State Sen. Raymond Lesniak told Sporting News on Thursday in regard to the NFL’s acceptance of allowing the Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas. “They’re the ones who started with one football game in (London’s) Wembley Stadium, and now they have four — and people are betting on the games right there in the stands. They have half a franchise in London now. All they have to do is add four more home games.’’ Lesniak is furious with the NFL for opposing and filing legal action to prevent New Jersey from offering legalized sports betting in the Garden State.
WSJ: Las Vegas Sands Case Draws Scrutiny to Gambling Industry - What began nearly six years ago as a wrongful-termination complaint against casino giant Las Vegas Sands Corp. has reverberated through the gambling business, prompting multiple federal investigations and industrywide changes. People involved in the casino industry said Wednesday that they expect the case’s implications to continue even without a trial. Executives at Sands and its rivals have long said they wished Mr. Adelson would settle the case, as its allegations brought unwanted scrutiny to the entire industry.
Gamblng Won't Be an Issue With Vegas NFL Team - Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman doesn’t think gambling is going to be a problem for the NFL as her city tries to attract a team. And she said as much on ESPN: “We’ve had years and years of experience in how to set regulations and enforce them. But I really don’t believe it’s going to be an issue for us at all,” she said. “At this point, the first step is to work through those numbers to make sure we can get a stadium built, do it high quality and most importantly in the right location.”
Québec Begins to Enforce Blacklist of 2,200 Online Gambling Websites - Québec’s government-run lottery agency, Loto-Québec, is forging ahead with a plan to blacklist roughly 2,200 online-gambling sites following last week’s passage of the controversial Bill 74, which authorizes the state-run lottery to compile such a blacklist and to assess heavy fines against the province’s internet service providers [ISPs] in case of noncompliance.
BetFred.com Joins Forces With GVC and PartyPoker - Less than three months after buying bwin.party, GVC has signed a 10-year deal with UK operator Betfred which involves “the full migration of Betfred’s online business, including all its sportsbook and gaming offering, to the GVC platform on an exclusive basis.” Betfred currently offers poker through Playtech’s iPoker platform, and the joint statement by GVC and Betfred implies that Betfred will soon be leaving to move to the partypoker poker platform.
Preakness Betting Handle Up Sharply - Betting on the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday was up sharply and set a record, buoyed by a larger field and a comparison with depressed figures from last year’s edition of the race. Betting on the 11-horse Preakness, won by the second choice, Exaggerator, was $61.3 million, up 16.2 percent from $52.7 million on an eight-horse field last year, according to a chart-by-chart comparison of the races. Betting on the entire 14-race card was strong as well, rising 10.5 percent to a record $94.9 million, according to the charts.
The £19bil Jackpot of the UK's Online Betting Sharks: Addiction Still Needs to be Addressed - Britain's bookmakers booming thanks to new 'in-play' technology where punters can play 24-hours per day on mobile phones and tablet but campaigners call for bookies to be more accountable for addicts
Vegas Sportsbook Accepted Bets on UFC Fights After They Had Ended - In Count Six of a complaint filed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, it is revealed that CG Technology accepted six wagers on a UFC fight between Chris Wade and Mehdi Baghdad after that fight was over. In that bout, Wade made short work of late-replacement Baghdad submitting him in the first round. The match took place at UFC Fight Night 81 - Dillashaw vs. Cruz, in Boston on January 17th, 2016. The complaint further states that CG Technologies accepted wagers on a boxing match on May 2nd, 2016, also after the conclusion of the bout. One has to question how long CG Technology will be permitted to continue operating its sportsbook at The Venetian as it is owned by casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who now owns the Las Vegas Review Journal, one of the first media outlet to report on these infractions.
Dan Gilbert Yahoo Bid: Does He Want to Take His Casino Venture Online Through Tech Giant? - Would Gilbert use Yahoo's customer base of millions of users to advertise his mortgage business? Is he after Yahoo's financial news section as a tie-in to his financial services? Is he hoping that he might one day expand his Jack Entertainment gaming business into online gambling?
Caesars Entertainment, WSOP.com Up For Sale – Caesars Entertainment is looking to sell off its interactive gaming unit. The bids value Caesars Interactive Entertainment at around $4 billion. Caesars Interactive is one of the largest players in the market for casino-style games on Facebook, with titles such as Slotomania and Bingo Blitz. The division, which also owns the World Series of Poker, generated $282.7 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization with sales of $766.5 million last year, according to a filing.
No Gambling Curb if Raiders Relocate to Vegas - At least one sportsbook director says he would expect to take bets on the Raiders should they relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas. “As much as we want to see a pro franchise, I certainly would not be in favor of taking those games off the board,” said Jay Kornegay, the race and sports book director of the Westgate Superbook. “It’d be sending the wrong message. It’s stating something is wrong with the industry.”
Sportech Emerges Victorious in Long Drawn Out VAT Case - Football pools betting and racing operator Sportech has walked away victorious its drawn-out value added tax (VAT) repayment battle against Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HRMC). In 2009 the wagering firm reclaimed some £40 million in VAT it claimed that its subsidiary, a company called Littlewoods, had mistakenly paid the UK taxman for 17 years worth of Spot the Ball game revenue.
Macau Sees Further Declines, Still Carries Risk - Deutsche Bank analysts released a research note today, commenting on the major Macau gaming stocks. Karen Tang – the analyst at the investment firm believes that Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS), Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) and Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:MPEL) still carry risk in the second quarter. Macau, which is the only legal casino hub in Asia generated gross gaming revenues of 17,341 million MOP (Macanese Pataca) during the month of April, reflecting a decline of 9.5% as compared to the same month of 2015. Source: The Country Caller
Traffic Tumbles at PokerStars Following 4 Percent Rake Increase Player traffic on the ring game tables of the industry’s top online poker sites took a dramatic fall during the month of April, punctuated by a 14.7% decline at PokerStars. This comes on the heels of a 4 percent rake increase imposed March 28.
Online Gambling Continues to Operate in Grey Area in Canada: Not Technically Illegal - CBC Sports has an interesting investigative report on the legal status (a grey area) of online sports betting in Canada. Most of those gambling sites are not based in Canada, but rather offshore, in places like Antigua, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man or the United Kingdom. That may sound shady, even reminiscent of the recent Panama Papers scandal, but the activity Steve and his friends are a part of is not technically illegal in Canada. Anybody with an internet connection and disposable income can easily place bets with the countless offshore bookmakers who court customers in Canada and other countries where it's not legal to accept wagers.
Sports Betting Concerns Take Back Seat in Raiders Potential Move to Vegas - Any concern over sports betting, which traditionally has been an automatic deal-breaker for the NFL when it comes to Las Vegas, seems to be taking a back seat. "We've had other cases, whether it's hockey or basketball or soccer, that the gaming issue was a forefront stumbling block," said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports at the Westgate Resort and Casino and a 20-year Las Vegas veteran. "This time around it really hasn't been discussed. And I think that's surprising that somehow the sports gambling aspect hasn't become a major hurdle."
Live In Play Wagering to Remain Illegal Live online betting during sports will remain illegal and loopholes being exploited by bookmakers will be closed, the Turnbull government has said, in a blow to bookmakers and major sports.
Raiders Owner to Meet With Officials Regarding Possible Vegas Move - Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis will be meeting with Nevada tourism officials Thursday in Las Vegas to discuss relocating to a proposed domed stadium there. He will be appearing at the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meeting at 11 a.m. ET Thursday in Las Vegas. The meeting will include more about a $1.3 billion stadium project being proposed by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and real estate agency Majestic Realty. (source: ESPN)
Paddy Power Upgraded by Morgan Stanley - Paddy Power Plc (LON:PAP) was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, StockTargetPrices.com reports. The firm currently has a £100 ($142.78) price target on the stock.
Motley Fool: You Should Buy Amaya Despite Indictments - It’s been a roller coaster ride for Amaya Inc. (TSX:AYA)(NASDAQ:AYA) with shares experiencing rapid rises and drops in price. The primary drivers of this include the uncertainty of whether or not this company is going to be taken private by its CEO, if the CEO did insider trading, and the long-term viability of the online gambling industry.
More of Today's Gambling Business Headlines
Ladbrokes Sees Multi-Channel Gains With Strong 2016 Opening
Love Triangle Leads to Indictments of Casino Exec
NetEnt Posts 33% Revenue Surge Driven by Increased User Interaction
Pay Per Head Website 247PPH.com Bought by Real Bookies
Coinroll Bitcoin Online Casino Customer Info Compromised by Hackers
Fast Company: How FanDuel CEO is Fighting Back Against Detractors
Roberto Carlos Joins Planetwin365 as Brand Ambassado
Leicester Title Win had Longer Odds Than Obama’s ‘Moon Walk was Fake’ Admission
10 Reasons Online Revenues Will Increase in 2016
Atlantic City Casino Revenue Down Only Slightly in March
- Compiled by Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com Business Reporter
